Clearcut logging over a wide area is an ongoing threat to the Great Bear Rainforest’s natural legacy. Widespread clearcutting has already destroyed 80 per cent of British Columbia’s large rainforest valleys. Every day, more endangered forests and ancient trees are cut down, destroying critical habitat for terrestrial species, such as deer, wolves and grizzly bears that rely on the forest for shelter and food.
 
When small streams that provide critical salmon spawning habitat are cut to their banks, increased sediment in the water makes them unsuitable for spawning. Without the shade of the forest, water temperatures in the stream rise, threatening salmon survival.
 
An interim agreement exists with government, environmental groups, industry and others to protect the most important areas of the Great Bear Rainforest, change logging practices and support a sustainable future for local communities.  However, until long-term protection is legislated and a more sustainable approach to resource management is in place, the situation remains dire.

Environmental Roll Backs

The health of the Great Bear Rainforest is further imperiled by the anti-environmental actions of the BC government.  Since entering office in 2001, the BC government has consistently rolled back environmental protection, including lowering the standards for pulp mill pollution and promoting new coal-fired power plants. Almost 3,000 full-time staff from the natural resource ministries are to be eliminated by 2006.

Other industrial development, such as mining and salmon farming, endanger the ecosystems of the Great Bear Rainforest. The BC government wants to increase the number of fish farms in BC in the upcoming years. This, although fish farms in BC have led to numerous disease outbreaks and tons of waste that threaten local marine life. Halfway up the B.C. coast in the Broughton Archipelago, which is the most concentrated area of fish farms in the province, sea lice outbreaks that decimated wild salmon runs have been linked to fish farms in the region.
 
The provincial government has also made it known it hopes to develop offshore oil and gas along the coast. This raises the likelihood of oil spills in the earthquake-prone region and potentially contaminating the fragile estuaries and ecosystems of the Great Bear Rainforest. Meanwhile, grizzly bear trophy hunting continues in the rainforest, despite scientific evidence that shows grizzly populations are vulnerable.

photos: Adrian Dorst (banner), Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter (centre)